Is God Waiting on You

Is God Waiting on You

 

When Moses went back up Mount Sinai for God to write the Ten Commandments on replacement tablets of stone (Moses destroyed the original set when he saw the golden calf), God made an amazing statement about His own nature and character:

• Exodus 34:6-7 Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; 7 who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.” 

Throughout the Bible, history and our daily lives, God constantly and consistently demonstrates His essences through His words and actions. For example, even in the midst of pending attacks from Assyria and prophecies of judgment for generations of disobedience, God declared His gracious intentions to Judah.

• Isaiah 30:18 Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him.

King Hezekiah, when faced with the imminent invasion by Assyria, prayed to God for deliverance.

• Isaiah 37:20 Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, Lord, are God.” 

In response to this prayer, the angel of the Lord struck down 185,000 of the Assyrians encamped around Jerusalem and the King of Assyria returned home to be murdered by two of his sons (see Isaiah 37:36-38).  

 

God’s goodness and love for us exceed our ability to fully understand. He wants to bless us. He knows just what we need. Sometimes He is just waiting for us to ask!

• Matthew 7:11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!

When His desire and our Spirit led prayers align, amazing things happen!

• 1 John 5:14 This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

Whether we are under attack from the enemy, anticipating discipline from our loving Heavenly Father, or facing any other trail or tribulation, God desires us to humbly turn to Him. Is God waiting on you to worship Him (in Spirit and truth) and pray to Him (in expectant faith)? 

 

Do you experience comfort and peace based on His love and promises regardless of the circumstances of your life? If not, perhaps He is waiting for you; waiting for you to acknowledge Him, to seek Him, to trust Him, to surrender to Him, to ask Him.

 

 

Prayer

 

 

Dear Lord, forgive me from worry, fear and frustration. I know that You are waiting for me to give myself completely to You. I am asking You to deliver me from the bondage of doubt, to empower me with Your Spirit of Truth, to grant me wisdom for discernment and decisions, and to comfort me with Your Peace that passes understanding. Thank You for Your patience. Thank You for Your Love. By Your grace I am saved through faith. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray, Amen.

 

After Giving Thanks

After Giving Thanks

 

 

Psalm 9:1-2 I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works. 2 I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

 

Hopefully you took extra time during the recent Thanksgiving holiday to praise God and thank Him for all He has provided. We can never thank Him enough for all He is, all He does and all He provides. Everything good in our lives comes from Him:

• James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

But with Thanksgiving behind us we turn our attention to Christmas. We celebrate the gift of Christ’s birth by giving gifts to one another. But of all the gifts we can give, what is most important?

Give yourself! 

• Matthew 16:24-25 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

Give yourself completely to Jesus Christ and then He can use you to:

• Share the Gospel:
• Matthew 28:19-20 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen (see also 2 Corinthians 4:5-11).
• Care for those in Need:
• James 1:27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world (see also Matthew 25:34-40).
• And so much more:
• Philippians 2:13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure (see also Philippians 4:13).

Way too often we focus on what we get. Everything is worth nothing without Christ!

• Matthew 16:26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

When we give ourselves to Christ, He blesses us so we can bless others. We should be putting others ahead of ourselves.

• Philippians 2:3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

So, after giving thanks, give yourself to Christ and to others!

 

 

Prayer

 

 

Dear Lord, I pray that I truly surrender all that I am to You. Use me as You see fit to share the Gospel message, to bless others, or for whatever purposes You desire. May all that call themselves Christians surrender to Your Lordship. Please help the church make Christmas about Christ. In the precious name of Jesus Christ I pray, Amen.